Jade slit rings
(jue)

Slit rings, later named
jue, along with discs,
rings and arc pendants, were among the earliest of all ornaments to
be made in fine polished stones such as jade. They were probably
worn as earrings.

The
earliest jue, which are
more like slit tubes than slit rings, are found in the north-east
in the Xinglongwa (about 5000 BC) and Chahai cultures (about 4500
BC), which preceded the Hongshan (about 3800-2700
BC)

The manufacture of
jue probably spread from
the north to the south-east to Zhejiang province, where they are
found at Hemudu, and they remained in use in the south-east in the
Majiabang and Songze cultures (5000-3000 BC). Many of these early
jue are relatively thick
and modelled in the round.